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13
“Your assessment was accurate, Mike.”
She noticed that he sat more upright in his seat as he nodded at her to continue. He’d been trying to teach her about reading body language. Ire or attentiveness? The latter seemed more likely. Miranda organized the data mentally before speaking.
“The flaps were never extended. Interestingly, the sterile cockpit rule that states nothing is to be discussed during a departure or landing that was not relevant to that action, technically remained intact.”
“Let me guess: the trainee crew and the flight instructor.”
Miranda nodded. It had been easy to overhear Mike and Susan’s discussion and she appreciated Mike not forcing his conclusions upon her investigation. His instincts were good about people precisely as Andi had said her own instincts were good about planes. She still preferred to make her own final analysis, but all of the data supported Mike’s hypothesis. His knowledge of aerodynamics had grown rapidly over the last two years.
“So, the cockpit voice conversation probably revealed that they were so focused on refining some other aspect of landing technique that no one noticed the flaps weren’t down or that they were experiencing an excessive descent rate as a result.”
“That is precisely what we are hearing in the QAR recordings. They were discussing microbursts particular to Cook Inlet during inclement weather. They didn’t react until there was aTerrain Proximityalert. They then wasted seven precious seconds thinking it was a test initiated by the trainer. By the time they understood that their angle of approach was too steep to be unrecoverable, it was far too late. They stalled violently into the ground. We will need to recommend to the FAA and the military that they refine the sterile cockpit rule in this matter.”
“What aretheystill working on?” He nodded aft.
“Andi and Holly are going to offer a first draft of the incident report for my approval. It will only be an initial finding until Jeremy can analyze the recordings in detail.”
Mike’s smile said he was very pleased about something, but his tone was serious when he asked, “You’re missing Jeremy in many ways, aren’t you, Miranda?”
She could only study her clenched hands and nod. Jeremy had spent years studying her own reports—before they ever met—and modeled his precisely on hers. By the time he left for DC, she’d been able to submit his work with little more than a proofreading.
The disjunct of having someone new drafting the first report meant that there would be unfamiliar phrasing, the information flow might be in less-than-optimal order, and even the punctuation might stray from her standard. She considered returning and doing the work herself, but Andi had sent her away, insisting it was time for her to sit with Susan.
Except she didn’t know Susan or what could be more relevant than the KC-46 Pegasus crash.
And Susan had a dog. Sadie had proven to be nonaggressive—so far. Even less so as she was presently sleeping, though an ear twitched whenever someone spoke.
“Do dogs experience a semi-conscious state during somnambulance, allowing them to track conversations that they lack the cognitive ability to understand?”
“Never underestimate Sadie,” Susan stated. “She’ll surprise you every time in how much she understands about people, especially their emotions.”
“How? I don’t understand my own emotions most of the time.”
Susan and Mike exchanged a glance that Miranda didn’t understand either.
“Sadie is an empath.”
Miranda considered. Had all of her own missing empathic abilities been allocated to animals like Sadie? Not the most comfortable thought. “Does she—”
Mike held up a hand to warn her off the topic.
Miranda took a pair of deep breaths to slow her heart rate and her thoughts. She was done with the KC-46 Pegasus crash until Andi and Holly had drafted the initial findings report. Mike was suggesting that she didn’t want to pursue dog consciousness, or unconsciousness, at length.
The steward delivering her cup of hot chocolate reminded her of where they were.
“I’ve never been aboard the C-37B variant before. I’d like to meet with the pilots to discuss handling characteristics and—”
This time Susan held up her own hand in the same manner Mike had.
Which wasquiteannoying.
“Can we discuss the reason we’re aboard rather thanwhatwe’re aboard?”
Miranda closed her eyes and sat quietly for a moment. Unfinished thoughts and channels of inquiry were even more worrisome than unfinished sentences. The multiple interrupted threads each remained in her mind, drawing potential energy that should be focused upon other avenues. Like…too many power block chargers plugged into her solar-electric system at home. Even when the laptop or phone or television was off, the charger block still drew power, draining storage batteries and adding an unneeded load on the system.
That was a nice metaphor. It reminded her of home. Another reason to like it.
